Tuner Screwed Up...!

CrBoy
CrBoy Posts: 580
edited September 2005 in Car Audio & Electronics
I need some help...!

I don't know what happened, but since I installed my amps (under passenger and driver seats) the tuner (FM/AM) on my Head Unit sounds like ****... the reception is really bad, sometimes the stations doesn't even sound, I only get pink noise...

Are the amps to close to the HU... or is something else...?

Thanks for the input, this is driving me crazy...
<|>
Post edited by CrBoy on
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Comments

  • 1996blackmax
    1996blackmax Posts: 2,436
    edited September 2005
    Is one of your amplifiers a Class-D amp? These amplifiers can generate signals that affect the radio. Some manufacturers do a better job than others in dealing with taming this issue.
    Alpine: CDA-7949
    Alpine: PXA-H600
    Alpine: CHA-S624, KCA-420i, KCA-410C
    Rainbow: CS 265 Profi Phase Plug / SL 165
    ARC Audio: 4150-XXK / 1500v1-XXK
    JL Audio: 10W6v2 (x2)
    KnuKonceptz
    Second Skin
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    Both are AB class...
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited September 2005
    I dont see how amps could ever mess with the radio signal.

    My first guess would be that you disconnected the attenna jack on the back of the head unit when you pulled it out to hook up the RCA's.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    MacLeod wrote:
    I dont see how amps could ever mess with the radio signal.

    My first guess would be that you disconnected the attenna jack on the back of the head unit when you pulled it out to hook up the RCA's.

    I already checked... it's fine
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited September 2005
    Beats me dude. I guess you could always unhook your amps and see if your tuner works then. If it is still screwed up even with the amps disconnected then you know your problem lies elsewhere.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    Common guys don't let me down... Can the wires (RCA) cause this problem?
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  • 1996blackmax
    1996blackmax Posts: 2,436
    edited September 2005
    MacLeod wrote:
    I dont see how amps could ever mess with the radio signal.

    Some older Class D amps could cause noise issues with the tuner.

    Here is a link from MTX:

    http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/technology/ampClassD.cfm
    Alpine: CDA-7949
    Alpine: PXA-H600
    Alpine: CHA-S624, KCA-420i, KCA-410C
    Rainbow: CS 265 Profi Phase Plug / SL 165
    ARC Audio: 4150-XXK / 1500v1-XXK
    JL Audio: 10W6v2 (x2)
    KnuKonceptz
    Second Skin
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited September 2005
    Where is your amp power wire routed?
    Never Forget
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    PolkThug wrote:
    Where is your amp power wire routed?

    Goes through the firewall (from the batt), continues under the carpet on the left side of the car until it gets to the distro block then to the amps under the seat...

    the power wire is not going anywhere near the HU...

    Does this answer your Q?
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited September 2005
    The only way to know for sure is to disconnect amp.

    The easiest way would be to take a speaker out and run some wire from it to the speaker outputs of the h/u. Disconnect the power to the amp and then listen to the radio thru that one speaker. If its still all static then unplug the RCA's. If it still doesnt work then your h/u is the likely culprit.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited September 2005
    take out the fuse in the amps and see if that helps. if it does you might have to move your amps. Or you could just get XM or sirius and be done with it...
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,185
    edited September 2005
    ... i swear to god, one of these days i'm just going to get a Kraco 6x9 and a Koss common ground radio with those little "turney" knobs on the left and the right and call it a day - nice 7 watts rms to roll down the road with. screw car audio.
    The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited September 2005
    Having problems tuning your system there Vinny?
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited September 2005
    liar
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • 1996blackmax
    1996blackmax Posts: 2,436
    edited September 2005
    PoweredByDodge wrote:
    ... i swear to god, one of these days i'm just going to get a Kraco 6x9 and a Koss common ground radio with those little "turney" knobs on the left and the right and call it a day - nice 7 watts rms to roll down the road with. screw car audio.


    Hey I've had turney two turney knobs on my last 2 HU's. I guess they are making a comeback :).
    Alpine: CDA-7949
    Alpine: PXA-H600
    Alpine: CHA-S624, KCA-420i, KCA-410C
    Rainbow: CS 265 Profi Phase Plug / SL 165
    ARC Audio: 4150-XXK / 1500v1-XXK
    JL Audio: 10W6v2 (x2)
    KnuKonceptz
    Second Skin
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    The weird thing is that the HU was working perfectly fine before I installed the sub and the amps... I used the HU without the amps for about 2 months and I didn't have any single problem...

    Inmediately after the installation was completed, when the guy turned on the radio I noted the poor reception but I said "What the hell, maybe is just this location"... it was not the location...
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,185
    edited September 2005
    "when the guy" ... did you have somebody install it for you, or did you do it yourself?

    #1 cause of audio issues = **** installers. often, you're better off doing it yourself, and while you may be messier than a everyday pro, you will take more care and effort to do a technically good job on your own vehicle - cuz it's your car.


    ... and no i'm not having any issues. i'm actually very pleased with how the truck sounds now. took me forever and a day.

    problems.

    1- the low pass on the blue thunder 754 only goes up to 250 hertz... so that leaves a big gap between the midranges and the "high-mid" / tweets (they start at 400 hertz and they're kind of weak at 400... it's got an 18db / octave slope for god sake.

    2- running with just a high pass on the mids, i get too much crossover around 500 to 1k hertz. the response on the mids drops like a brick around 1k, but i still have the "high-mid's" running down to 400-ish. so they overlap, reinforce each other, and it sounds like mud in there.

    3- god bless ken-ferd system q+'s. i set the "mid" adjustment to 1k hertz with the widest "band" available and dropped it to -6 ...

    4- tweeter response on the 3.5" components is not as good as it should be... the there is no boost on the crossover network either. it's "0, -3 or, -6". So I set trebble to 12.5k, medium"band" and dialed it up to +7

    5- bass is at "0"

    what i ended up with is a very "flat" sounding system (in a good way i mean) - the music sounds very very true, and i think i've compensated for mis-matched speakers that were never designed to be put together. the mid's are butchered 6x9's - i removed the tweeters. they're sensitivity and frequency response is not even remotely designed to be mated with the 3.5" components. I believe I did a good job of smoothing it out though. I think if I designed a unique 3 way passive crossover network that bandpassed the 6x9 mids and 3.5 mid-high's and high passed the tweet, that I'd be one step closer to "dead on"... also - a 15 band parametric EQ would certainly be a nice thing to have. But, alas, I must say i am extremely happy with where it's at now - by far the truest sounding system i've ever built. There is a distinct "lesser" bass presence than in previous creations of mine, but after about an hour of listening to it, i realized that is how it's supposed to be -the bass isn't supposed to overwhelm the music no more than vocals are... it's supposed to blend just like everything else.
    The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    The guy that did the install is a pro... he has done some very impressive work for other people around here (my bro included) and he did a nice work on my car... zero footprint. All the cables (RCA, speeakers...) are Stingers Top of the Line and the distro block is from stinger as well...
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  • 1996blackmax
    1996blackmax Posts: 2,436
    edited September 2005
    Why not take it back to the shop and tell them that the noise started after the amp install.
    Alpine: CDA-7949
    Alpine: PXA-H600
    Alpine: CHA-S624, KCA-420i, KCA-410C
    Rainbow: CS 265 Profi Phase Plug / SL 165
    ARC Audio: 4150-XXK / 1500v1-XXK
    JL Audio: 10W6v2 (x2)
    KnuKonceptz
    Second Skin
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited September 2005
    Yup, thats what it all boils down to. If the radio was working before he installed the amp and sub and now it isnt Id take it back to him and let him fix it.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • CrBoy
    CrBoy Posts: 580
    edited September 2005
    You're right... I should do that...
    I don't know why i didn't think about that... :(
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